


Enchanted

by yougottalovefandoms



Category: All Time Low
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4758095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yougottalovefandoms/pseuds/yougottalovefandoms





	Enchanted

“I CAN’T BELIEVE WE’RE FINALLY HERE!”

I cringed at my sixteen year old cousin Anna’s squeal, but nodded none the less. I, too, was looking forward to the concert that night, but was never as dramatic as my younger cousin. “Pretty exciting, right?”

“This night is going to be fucking awesome, Chris.” She skipped ahead of me while she corrected me. I smirked at her giddiness. Never before had I seen her so excited for anything, not even when she got her driver’s license a few months before. “Now let’s go find the line for Meet and Greet so we can be first to meet them!”

I followed her to the small line in front of the venue, as opposed to the much longer line across the street. I felt bad for them, knowing that they had to have waited for at least six hours at that point if they were in front of the general admission line. At the same time, I was thankful Anna and I had joined the fan club when we did, barely making the meet and greet for our first show. This gave us perks, of course. Not only meeting the band beforehand, but also pretty much guaranteeing us a front row seat to the show later that night.

So before we knew it, our small group of fans were escorted into the venue and told how the guys will try their best to make their rounds to us all, but if we don’t get pictures with them or get something signed, to not make a fit about it. I felt this was said particularly for girls like my cousin, who I knew would burst into tears if she wasn’t able to hug Alex.

“The guys will be out here momentarily, so just hang tight.” Matt Flyzik, All Time Low’s tour manager informed us before walking over to one of the sound guys, leaving us fans to chat amongst ourselves.

“Oh my God, Chris, we’re actually here…” Anna whispered in my direction. I could hear the nerves in her voice. “That was really Matt Flyzik, right?”

I took a breath, grabbing both my cousin’s shoulders as I did so. I knew if I didn’t talk her down now, she may scare the guys for life as soon as they walk in the room. “Please, Anna. Understand that Rian, Jack, Alex, and Zack may be in a band, but they’re just people like us. Just relax.”

She took a few uneasy breaths as best she could, then just as she was beginning her third, Zack, Jack, and Rian appeared, followed by Alex a few seconds later.

The cheering began, and immediately the guys were swarmed by fans, Alex and Jack having the most girls surrounding them. Anna ran over to the crowd by Alex, while inwardly sighed. So much for staying calm. I awkwardly stayed back a few moments before walking over to Rian, who only had a few girls next to him.

Luckily, most girls took shifts, moving through each band member relatively quickly, so I was able to briefly chat with Rian and Zack without any hiccup. Then, I made my way over to the group of girls surrounding Alex, and just so happened to watch as my cousin shyly asked for a hug. Alex, of course, accepted and I couldn’t help but smile at how simple an act could make my cousin’s life. As they parted, I managed to snap a picture before it was my turn to say hi to him.

“Hi Alex.” I smiled at him. “I’m Christina.”

He smiled warmly back. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“I’m great, though I think Anna has me beat at the moment.” I nodded in the young blonde’s direction, who had numbly stepped off to the side to collect herself. “You just hugged my cousin into shock.”

He laughed slightly before pointing down at the CD I had brought with me. “Would you like that signed?”

I nodded, handing it over. As I did, my wrist turned at just the right angle for Alex to spot my tattoo of Sally from Nightmare before Christmas. At the moment, it was the only one I had, but I cherished it as a connection to my youth. Even though I was eighteen, ever since I graduated I had felt surrounded by the pressure to grow up, go to college, get a job. How was I supposed to make all these life altering decisions at once? All the pressure to pave to road to my future was too much at once, which was how I found myself staying in my hometown, working for Anna’s father, my Uncle Dave, at a firm I couldn’t care less about. “Awesome tat.” He pointed down at my right wrist before scribbling his signature on the CD case. “You should show that to Jack. He’s kind of obsessed.”

I let out a small scoff before I could stop myself. “It’s only the best movie ever.”

Alex smirked at my response and as I noticed a twinkle in his eyes, he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled out, “Yo, JACK!” over the loud chatter of the fans.

Jack’s head snapped in Alex’s direction and Alex just pointed his sharpie down at me, stating, “Make sure you talk to this girl.”

Jack gave two thumbs up before turning his attention back to the fans in front of him, while I smiled softly at the lead singer, slightly embarrassed. “Thanks for that.”

Alex just shrugged, “No problem…” He glanced back over towards Jack, who held his hand up to the next girl in line and seemed to be waving me over. Alex just shook his head at his friend’s eagerness to see me as he added, “I think he’s holding up the line for you.”

“Then I guess I better get over there.” I chuckled as Jack tapped his foot impatiently. “It was nice meeting you.”

I waved bye to Alex and walked roughly ten feet to Jack and the fans he had waiting. As I attempted my best to portray an apologetic look in their direction, these girls dared to give me the coldest death glare if I ever did see one. I mentally rolled my eyes. It wasn’t my fault Jack held up the line. That was totally on him.

As I approached the tall, lanky man, I shyly informed that I could've waited for the other girls to get their turn, but he just swatted his hand dramatically. "I wanna know why Alex wanted me to meet you."

I smirked at his impatient nature, revealing my Sally tattoo, and sure enough this got Jack's full attention. "Holy shit, that's awesome!" He practically shouted as he grabbed my arm for a closer inspection. I laughed as his thumb gently traced the black outlines of the intricate tattoo.

"Thank you...I take it you're a fan?" I raised a brow, noting how bright his eyes had become since I walked over.

"It's only the second best movie EVER." Jack snorted in response, as if my question shouldn't even require a response.

"Oh yeah?" I laughed. "What's the best?"

"Home Alone, duh."

I bit my lip, trying my best to suppress my embarrassed smile in vein. "Would you believe I've never seen it?"

If his jaw could have physically dropped to the floor, it would have. "No way!"

I nodded my head to indicate I wasn't kidding. "I know, it's blastphamy."

"Okay, tomorrow I'm coming over and we're watching Home Alone. I can't let you live another day of your life without seeing the masterpiece."

I smiled, seeing no harm in playing along with him. "Sounds like a plan."

We continued the playful banter for a few more minutes, and at one point, Jack snuck up behind Alex to thank him for introducing him to his 'Sally', then eventually he and I had to part ways as he had to wrap up with the other fans. It didn't take long for me to find my cousin, who had since been able to snap herself out of her stunned silence since meeting her favorite singer. "What the hell was that?"

I tilted my head innocently. "What are you talking about?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You were flirting it up with Jack for at least ten minutes."

I let my bottom lip fall in a small pout. "Come on, Ann, he just really liked my tattoo. Did you not hear him announce to the room that he found his Sally?"

She took a moment to respond. "Sounded like flirting to me."

"Oh, come on." I shook my head as the guys announced the had to go get ready for the show. I smiled and waved to them one last time before turning my full attention to Anna. "Don't tell me you're jealous."

She gave a quick shake of her head. "I'm just saying, be careful. You know how vicious some fans can get." Her eyes wandered towards a few girls standing in the front baracade by Jack, and they kept stealing glances in my direction and whispering to each other.

I sighed, realizing that my younger cousin may have a point after all. "I swear it meant nothing." I replied, this time feeling a little doubt creep into my voice.

"How often have you heard stories about Jack spending time with ONE girl at one of these things?" At my silence she gave a smug smile. "Told ya."

Determined to prove her wrong, I adimintly shook my head. "You are reading way too into this." I glanced down at my phone and sighed to myself. Only an hour to go before the opening acts, thus an hour of Anna going on and on about this. I knew my cousin too well.

~*~

"Best. Show. EVER!" Anna screamed as she bounced up and down thanks to the post concert addreneline.

I laughed at her antics, but couldn't disagree with her assessment. "It was pretty awesome. Did you see Alex look right at you during A Party Song?"

She let out a squeal in response. "I swear, that man is the most gorgeous guy on the planet. Lisa is such a lucky girl."

"He is easy on the eyes..." I let out a chuckle as Anna breathed a sigh of infatuation. We found our car and began our short trip back home, blasting our custom All Time Low mix and singing along to every word. I dropped Anna off at her parents house, then made my way to the tiny one bedroom apartment I currently resided at, dreading the next day. I worked at Anna's father (aka, my Uncle's) firm, as the receptionist/ assistant. Which meant I had to do whatever anyone asked of me for little to sometimes no pay depending on the overtime I put in. Saying I hated my job was a major understatement. I despised it with every ounce of my being, but he was family and was kind enough to give me the position when I graduated high school the summer before. My plan had been to get enough money to support myself through at least the first year of college, but here I was, six months later, with no change in sight. Being apart of a law firm was never a part of the plan...it was just my true passion, music, was never one I felt I could truely live off of. Not like, say, the guys from All Time Low.

Which was why I was where I was, plopping on my bed at nearly midnight after a night of fun before going back to mundane life, wishing things were different.  
Notes  
First chapter from a first time author. I swear, it gets better. I just had to set up their initial meeting :) Anyway, I hoped you guys enjoyed it. I'll be posting chapter two ASAP...

 

Walking into work the following day was tough. It was my turn to go on the morning coffee run, so begrudgingly, i took the orders and sprinted down to the street to the nearest Starbucks. I mindlessly placed the orders, not even noticing a familiar tall, lanky boy waiting for his own order to be called up on the busy morning.

He noticed, though.

"Hey, Sally!"

I frowned. I knew that voice. Whipping around, I found myself face to face with the dark haired guitarist from the band I had seen not even twenty four hours before. "Jack?" My mouth dropped open. "You guys are still here?"

He nodded. "We're just getting our java fix before we hit the road."

I pursed my lips, noting the presence of Rian behind Jack as well and gave a small wave. "What a surprise to bump into you guys." I smiled as I quickly added, "Great show last night by the way."

Jack returned a genuine smile in return. "I'm really glad you enjoyed it, Sally."

I chuckled at his nickname for me. "It's Christina, actually."

Jack stick out his bottom lip in a pout. "But I like calling you Sally..."

I shook my head, rolling my eyes slightly as I did. I wouldn't admit it, but I found Jack's remembering me to be endearing. "Well if you like calling me Sally that much, I guess I could let you..."

"Yay!" Jack cheered and practically tackled me into a hug, causing a few passerby's to give us both strange looks. Still in Jack's tight embrace, I looked over Jack's shoulder towards Rian, silently asking him what I should do. He just sighed and walked over to the counter where orders were received, leaving me and Jack on our own.

He finally released his tight embrace and I awkwardly glanced down, unsure of what to say next. After all, I was just a fan. Maybe not a crazed fan, but still a fan. "You're still going to watch Home Alone, right?"

I laughed. "If you recommend it so highly, you betcha."

"Awesome." Jack looked proud of himself, as if he'd done his civic duty. "Actually, do you have twitter? You can tell me what you think."

"Sorry, I don't."

His smile fell, clearly dissapointed. "Oh." Silence passed and I could see his wheels turning. Before I could blink, Jack ran to the other side of the shop, exchanging a few quick words with the barista, before strolling back over, with a grin plastered on his face.

I eyed him suspiciously. "What'd you do?"

He didn't answer, instead greeting Rian, who had now returned with their coffee. "Hey man, ready to go?"

Rian gave a nod. "We should go. Everyone's waiting on us."

“Well it was nice meeting you again.” I smiled at the two guys standing in front of me, sad to see them go. There was certainly something special about hanging out with them. “I’ll try to catch you the next time you’re in town.”

Jack gave me a wink, with one more quick hug. “You better, Sally.”

Then, they were out the door.

For a moment, I stood there, rewinding the past few minutes in my head. Did that really just happen? Or was my boredom tanking to a new low, this time complete with vivid daydreams?  
“I’ve got an iced mocha latte, two decaf coffees, an earl grey tea, and a double shot espresso for Christina?” the barista called out, snapping me out of it. I shook my head and retrieved my order. As I turned to adjust the cups in the two carriers I had been given, I noticed a small napkin sticking up between two of the drinks. Never seeing this before, I set both of the carriers on a nearby vacant table and pulled out the brown, thin ply napkin that Starbucks gave their customers. On it, someone had scribbled out what very much seemed to be a number as well as two simple words:

For Sally.

~*~

Jack’s POV

“…do you know what you want, yet?” Rian asked, not bothering to mask his annoyance.  
I shook my head. “Nope. Why are there so many choices, again?”

Rian rolled his eyes. “Just…tell me again why I let you tag along? I swear, if it was just me, we’d already be on the bus and hitting the road.”

“Well so-rry mister perfect Starbucks orderer.” I responded, mocking offence. I glanced over towards the large overhang menu again, realizing that we probably were holding everyone up. “Just…get me something with chocolate, alright?”

Rian nodded and walked up to place our order, while I stood back, trying my best to stay out of everyone’s way. I glanced down at my phone to pass the time, checking on my twitter as I regularly did. Nothing new of interest had popped up since I last checked, so I almost switched to play a round or two of Candy Crush when I felt a girl breeze right past me and over towards the counter where Rian was just returning from. My eyes shot up and I couldn’t believe what was in front of me. The girl from yesterday, the beautiful, wonderful girl who I hadn’t truly been able to keep my mind off of was now in the exact same Starbucks as me. What were the chances of that? Weren’t there like at least one Starbucks per block now?

“Dude, look who’s here…” I whispered to Rian as he walked up, pointing over to the girl who now had her back towards us as she placed her order.

“Who?” Rian tilted his head, not recognizing the girl at all, but I knew it was her. Even if that tattoo didn’t give her away, her smiling face was one that had grabbed my attention from the moment I saw her.

“It’s that girl from yesterday.” I explained, “The one that had that awesome tattoo.”  
Rian gave a kind nod, but didn’t seem overly impressed like I was. “Oh really?”

“Oh, shit, she’s going to walk right by us again.” I muttered as she began walking away, still unaware of our presence, and before I could resist any further, I shouted out the only name I could think of. “Hey, Sally!”

She froze in her tracks as her head shot up, looking right at me with her mouth agape. “Jack?” she timidly breathed as she approached us. “You guys are still here?”

I gave a small nod. “We’re just getting our java fix before we hit the road.”

She smiled, her eyes wandering slightly as she noticed Rian behind me. I hadn’t noticed, but as soon as I called out her name, Rian distanced himself, probably knowing I had a small crush on the girl. He knew me too well. “What a surprise to bump into you guys.” She gave a friendly wave in Rian’s direction, which he returned with a white smile. “Great show last night, by the way.”

If my heart could soar, it would have when I heard that come out of her mouth. I wasn’t sure why I felt a connection with this girl despite knowing almost nothing about her other than she loved Nightmare Before Christmas, our band, and had never seen Macaulay Culkin in all his glory. I smiled at her, feeling a slight blush reach my cheeks despite hearing this all the time from other fans. “I’m really glad you enjoyed it, Sally.”

She chuckled, glancing down at the floor momentarily before meeting my eyes again. “It’s Christina, actually.”

Christina. I processed the name and concluded she did look like a Christina, but my own nickname for her fit so perfectly. So, with a mock pout, I whined, “But I like calling you Sally.”

The pouting seemed to do the trick, because she conceded to my continued use of the special tattoo inspired name. I shouted in victory and eloped the smaller girl into a tight hug. At first she was frozen, shocked by my action, but after the initial shock, she relaxed into my embrace.

I released her a few moments later, and smirked as she shyly glanced back down. My hug must have really thrown her off. I thought that maybe she wasn't used to being the center of attention. I couldn't understand why; as far as I could see, she was a smart, beautiful woman. Not wanting the silence to last any longer, I asked, "You still going to watch Home Alone, right?"

She looked up at me, a small, bemused smile plastered on her face. "If you recommend it so highly, you betcha."

My grin only grew at her promise. "Awesome!" My smile faltered as I realized that if I did manage to run into Sally, it wouldn't be for at least six months, depending on our next touring schedule. We didn't always hit up San Diego. "Actually, do you have twitter? You can tell me what you think."

Her shoulders fell slightly and immediatly I found myself dreading her next words. "Sorry, I don't."

I pressed my lips in thought. I had to see her again, or at least keep in tough with her somehow. I usually wasn't one for fate, but there was something special about this girl that I didn't want to pass by. Maybe I was beginning to finally understand what Alex meant when he said he loved Lisa since the first time he saw her. I used to think he was exaggerating. Now I wasn't so sure. Then, an idea popped into my head. Knowing I only had a few minutes before we really had to go, I rushed over to the thankfully empty counter and grabbed one of the napkins from a dispencer. "Could you do me a huge favor..." I squinted my eyes so I could zone in on the barista's counter. "Carley?"

The young girl was thankfully very helpful and didn't recognize me. If she had, it very well could've put a halt to my very time sensitive plans. Glancing at the clock, I noticed it was five minutes to eight, which meant I had five minutes to make it to the bus. I borrowed a pen, quickly jotting down my number, adding a simple, for Sally at the bottom, before thanking Carley one last time and calmly making my way back over to to the suspicious looking girl.  
"What'd you do?"

I kept my mouth shut, noting Rian's return with our drinks. "Hey man, ready to go?"  
Rian nodded, looking apologetically in Sally's direction before saying, "We should go. Everyone's waiting on us..."

It was true, in fact Matt was probably cursing our names right at that moment. Sally smiled at the two of us, and I could see a hint of disappointment in her eyes. "Well it was nice meeting you again. I'll try to catch you the next time you're in town."

I would most certainly hold her to that.

Outlloud, I just winked and gave her one last hug before adding, "You better."

Then, before Rian could begin with the death glares, I let him drag me out the door and into the street. Luckily the bus was parked a couple blocks away, so it wouldn't take too long to get on the road.

"Are you going to tell me what that was about?" Rian turned to me as we walked, handing my coffee to me.

I frowned, pretending I had no idea what he was talking about. The last thing I wanted was for Rian, or any of the guys for that matter, to be reading into something when it easily could be nothing. I hardly knew the girl, after all. “What what was about?”

Rian rolled his eyes, scoffing, “Come on. I haven’t seen you have it this hard for a girl since Junior year.”

He had me there. “It’s nothing, alright? I just wanted her to tell me what she thought of Home Alone, that’s all.”

He let out a hardy laugh, causing a few people walking by to give us odd looks, which we both ignored. “Okay, first of all, that’s your favorite movie so if she hates it, you’ll never speak to her again—”

“She won’t hate it—”

“And,” Rian stubbornly continued. “It’s about more than the movie, isn’t it? You think she’s cute.”  
We had just arrived in front of the bus and I froze in my tracks at my friends words. I opened my mouth, but for once, the man who always had something to say, no matter how stupid or ridiculous, had no words, other than a pathetic stutter of, “Ri…wait, no—”

“Told ya.” Rian smirked, knowing he’d won.

Fuck, I hated when he did that.  
My cheeks are turning red  
I'm searching for the words inside my head  
Cause I'm feeling nervous, trying to be so perfect  
Cause I know you're worth it, you're worth it...

When I got home from a long day at work, I had every intention of throwing the number in the trash to save myself from embarrassment. I mean, why the hell was he so interested in me in the first place? I wasn’t anything special. I was an average girl, average height, average weight, average everything.

I just couldn’t contemplate why Jack would even slip me his number in the first place. Maybe he did it on a dare. That was plausible enough…I could see maybe Matt betting him he couldn’t get a fan to text him without his number ending up on the internet.

Or, maybe he was genuine and had no ulterior motive whatsoever.

I groaned at the argument growing in my head. I felt like I needed to talk with someone about my situation, but the only someone I knew who would even understand who I was talking about was Anna, and that wasn’t going to happen. All I would get out of her is “OH MY GOD!” Oh, and ear piercing screams. Can’t forget that.

So instead of dealing with that mellow drama, I decided on the next best thing, which was making a quick list of pros and cons.

Taking a breath, I didn't hesitate in coming up with the first pro: it was Jack fucking Barakat, and he really did seem genuinely nice.

Con: he could be taking advantage of his celebrity. Though I admitted, this seemed more and more unlikely as time wore on.

Pro: he and I seemed to get along and I really enjoyed our two, albeit brief, conversations.

Con: if word were to ever get out that Jack did give me his number, I'd surely be seen as the slut of the fan community, and knowing how loyal and dedicated the fan base was from personal experience, that was something that would never go away.

Pro: he was super attractive and the first guy that seemed to show even a hint of interest towards me in ages.

I frowned as I thought over the cons I had listed, realizing that one was ridiculously paranoid, and the other...well it wasn't much better.

Why the hell was I even arguing with myself over this? There was no harm in texting, right? It was meant as a totally friendly, platonic level. Besides, how many girls got a chance like this? Not many.

Or at least, I'm hoping.

So, before I could talk myself out of it, I whipped out my phone and entered in the number Jack had left for me on the napkin.

Hey Jack, this is Sally...i hope you remember giving me your number, otherwise this is super embarrassing. We ran into each other in Starbucks this morning?

Pressing send, I tossed my phone down as if it was burning my skin, my eyes wide in shock. Did I really just do that? I was never the impulsive type, but for whatever reason, Jack seemed to be all the incentive I needed to break out of my rational thinking.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I stared at the phone, daring it to buzz and indicate a new message had arrived. I didn't even care if it was a message asking who Sally was or telling me I had the wrong number. It was just nerve wrecking not knowing what kind of response I might receive. I stayed that way for a good two minutes before realizing if it really was Jack I just texted, he was probably getting ready for the next show right around this time.

I shot up from my spot on the couch and practically ran out of the room into the kitchen to busy myself. If I sat by the phone, I'd just drive myself crazy and jump to those extreme conclusions (like Jack being bet that I would/wouldn't text him) and i really didn't care to put myself through that.

I managed to busy myself in the kitchen for a good thirty minutes, then I got a call from my chatty mother. Nearly an hour afterwards, I managed to wrap things up with her just after ten. By that point, I was so tired I almost forgot about sending the text at all. But it was as I was gathering my things for bed, I took my cell phone and was about to plug it in by my nightstand when I noticed I had a new message.

Oh. Crap. Here goes nothing...

Hesitantly, I opened up my new message, bracing myself for what was to come.

SALLY!!! My soulmate! I could never forget you. Have you seen Home Alone yet?

I let out a breath I hadn't even realized I had been holding as a sense of relief washed over me. That was undoubtably Jack. I plugged in my phone before responding.

Not yet :( BUT I'm going out to the store to get it during my break tomorrow.

This time his response was almost immediate.

Awesome :] Txt me when u get it. Maybe we can watch it at the same time! We actually have a day off soon…Monday, I think. If we time it right, it'll be like I'm right there.

I felt a smile escape my lips as I texted back, not being able to resist teasing him a little.

I think we could work something out but FYI, I really hope this movie is worthy of the hype. This is your stamp of approval on the line, you know.

Tellin u, it’s totally awesome. Kevin McCallister is the coolest.

I laughed, finding it amusing that Jack’s all-time favorite movie was a 90’s flick geared towards kids. Then again, I wasn’t kidding when I said Nightmare before Christmas was one of myfavorites…so maybe I wasn’t exactly one to judge.

We continued to text well into the night, with him telling me of his silly adventures while on tour, as well as more everyday things like his life growing up in Maryland and how he came to form the band with Alex way back when they were still in high school. Then I would tell him a bit about myself and my boring (especially compared to his) life in San Diego. The whole time we chatted, I somehow managed to throw the fact that he was the guitarist in one of my favorite bands out the window and talked like old friends catching up. I was in awe over how natural our wordplay flowed, so much so that when Jack finally admitted he had to go, I was a little heartbroken.

The show in LA tonight was killer on my bod. Another show in Vegas tomorrow so GTG hit the hay.

I bit my lip, trying to come up with a reasonable response, you know, without sounding too crushed.

Okay…I should probably get to bed too. Long day at work and everything…it was nice chatting with you Jack

I took a breath as I pressed send, realizing that I shouldn’t expect this to be a regular thing…in fact I came to the conclusion that it was nothing other than a one-time thing. How could I assume otherwise without getting my heart totally crushed? I had to admit, I may have had the smallest crush on Jack, but it was harmless and to be expected considering how completely adorable the man was. I never expected feelings to be reciprocated. However, his next text suddenly made me reevaluate my initial conclusion.

Loved chatting with you too, my Sally! :* Text me tomorrow when you get HA…I may or may not be busy doing band stuff but who cares. My new BFF is more important.

I let out a surprised laugh. Did he really just refer to me as his new BFF? As in, higher up on the list than Alex? Either this man was crazy, silly, or genuinely meant it.

Or possibly a little of all three.

I decided to let his text be the last of the night as I glanced at my clock, indicating it was nearly two in the morning. Man, I was glad I had the day off the next day, otherwise I would seriously regret chatting with Jack for as long as I did. As it was, I felt like a zombie as I shut off my bedroom light and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I let my dreams take over.  
Something 'bout the way you looked at me  
 Made me think for a moment,    
That maybe we were meant to be…

“I still can’t believe you’ve never seen Home Alone.” Anna laughed at me the following afternoon. I had decided to let her tag along during my quick outing to the store to buy the DVD like I had promised Jack, but I was already starting to regret my decision.

I rolled my eyes at my cousin. “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”

“I’m starting to think you were sheltered as a child.” Anna continued with a teasing smirk.

“Well, not everyone’s perfect, Miss. Never-seen-Indiana-Jones.” I shot back, matching her smirk. “Seriously, if one of us is sheltered, I’d pick you.”

She gaped at me, and for a second I was worried I might’ve pressed the wrong button. Luckily she eased up a moment later and simply shrugged. “Whatever. You know I don’t like bugs. Or snakes. Or bugs and snakes.” She shivered dramatically at the thought before turning her attention towards the DVD in my hand. “What made you finally watch this, anyway?” She thought for a moment before snapping her fingers in excitement. “It wasn’t Jack, was it?”

I felt my cheeks begin to blush at the mention of Jack. I tried my best to hide it, quickly shaking my head as if it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. “What?! No…” I pursed my lips as I tried to come up with a somewhat reasonable explanation. “Lilly from work recommended it.”

Anna stared at me as she repeated my words doubtfully. “Lilly from work?”

I nodded. “Yep. You know she has a really great taste in movies. She suggested that one movie…with the aliens and Will Smith.”

“…you mean Independence Day?” Anna offered, yet before I could continue my somewhat reasonable explanation of why I was buying a nearly twenty year old movie, Anna cut me off completely. “Okay, first off that movie is another classic so I don’t know why you’d need Lilly from work to tell you otherwise. AND I remember specifically Jack telling you to watch Home Alone during our meet and greet.” She eyed me suspiciously. “You’re actually going to go keep a promise you made to a complete, albeit, really hot stranger?”

“Um…yes?” I stammered, really hoping that was all my psychic cousin could read off of me.

In fact, she probably would have left it alone right there—well, maybe teasing me a bit about my crush on the lanky guitarist before letting it go—had it not been for my phone going off right then. Anna raised a curious brow as I took out my phone, but it was as I subtly attempted to read the text out of her view, that my stupid cousin decided to take matters into her own hands, literally. Snatching the electronic device out of my palm, I could barely let out a loud gasp as Anna read the new text outlloud. "I've been thinking about getting a Jack Skellington tat...it wouldn't be weird if we matched, right?"

Well, that actually wasn't so bad. It could be anyone. I silently thanked God I hadn't officially added him to my contacts list and was instead listed as an unknown number. I shrugged innocently. "That could be anyone."

My phone went off as soon as the words left my mouth. Anna smirked as she read the new message to herself, then read out, "Wait, you're my Sally so duh, it wouldn't be weird. Oh, Alex says hi." She glared at me as she handed back my phone, silently telling me something a long the lines of are you kidding me?

I scrunched up my nose and clenched a fist as I cursed Jack's name. Why the hell couldn't he be a bit more secretive? Didn't he know about my obsessive and no holds cousin? "Okay, fine. So I'm talking to him, but I swear it's nothing. He's just really determined to get me to see this damn movie." I waved the damned movie in front of her face to emphasis my point.

She sputtered out a laugh. "Please tell me you're not that clueless, Chris."

"I'm not going to assume he wants anything else unless he tells me otherwise." I shot back, letting out a sigh of relief as it was finally our turn to pay. Anna kept her mouth shut as I forked over the whopping five dollars the movie cost and we were on our way back to the car.

It wasn't until we were both buckled in that Anna spoke up again, her tone much calmer than it had been in the store. "How did you even get his number, anyway?"

My shoulders dropped as I realized there was no point in shutting Anna out. At this point she pretty much knew everything already anyway. "I ran into him yesterday morning at Starbucks."

"And he just gave you his number?" She asked, doubt laced in her voice.

I had to smile as I replied honestly, "We just hit it off, I guess..." Anna smirked deviously in response, and it was clear she was waiting for something. When she didn't say anything, I threw a hand up, "What? It's true."

"I believe you." Anna smiled as she let out a chuckle. "I was just waiting for you to text him back. You don't want to leave Jack hanging, do you?"

I glanced down at my phone, which was now comfortably sitting in one of the two cup holders to the right of me. I pressed my lips together as I picked up the phone, figuring that since I had yet to start the car, there was no harm in replying to the musician.

Tell Alex I said hi back. Oh, and u'll b happy 2 know I just got the movie.

As I sent the text, I returned my phone to the cup holder before turning the car on and getting out of the rush of mid-afternoon shoppers.

Our conversation fizzled after that, the only sound emulating softly from the radio. As I mouthed along to Pink's newest hit, Anna gave a soft, dreamy sigh as she muttered, "You and Jack would make the cutest babies."

I swear, I almost hit the car in front of me right there. Luckily I (somewhat safely) slammed on the brakes and managed to come to a complete stop before slamming the front of my car into the back of the very expensive Mercedes in front of me.

I took the opportunity while stopped to glare at Anna, who shrugged, unfazed that I almost crashed. "I'm just saying..."

"We're just friends." I replied, more for my benifit than hers. That stupid crush I had on the brown eyed guitarist could only give me pain if acted upon. "Plus we barely know each other."

"But you will." Anna gave a determined nod as I just rolled my eyes. What was the likelyhood that Jack would ever reciprocate my feelings?

My phone buzzed again and without looking I knew it was Jack. Anna's eyes brightened as if silently asking if she could reply for me since I was still driving. "Oh, go ahead." I shook my head at her pleading eyes. "You know you want to..."

Her eyes scrolled through Jack's text before responding, "He said that he was hoping to do a skype chat when you two watched Home Alone--oh my god, can I be there for that?!" Anna asked/squealed.

"Just tell him sure, that sounds fun." I told her, adding, "And please, can you sit this one out? I really don't want to scare Jack off."

Instead of being offended over the fact that I might've insinuated that she was capable of terrifying her favorite band, Anna chose to take my comment with a grain of salt and smiled widely, "So you do like him."

~*~  
Jack's POV

After spending a good portion of the night talking to Sally, I found myself finding it difficult to focus on much else. This girl was...amazing. She was smart, not to mention beautiful. And she was a fan of the band, which most guys would've taken as a huge no go, but I chose to view it as a positive thing. I mean, she was already familiar with our general personalities and knew about how busy our lives could be.

I managed to get through our early morning band meeting without incident, and luckily no one gave me a second glance when I would constantly check my phone. This was a common occurance anyway thanks to twitter. However it was clear I wasn't doing my best to mask my distracted mind, because sure enough, just as I sent Sally a casual text about my thoughts on my own Nightmare inspired tattoo, Alex chose to sneak up behind me and ask, "Who's Sally?"

As fast as my reflexes would go, I flipped my phone firmly to my lap so Alex couldn't see. "Dude, it's no one."

Flopping onto the seat next to me, Alex pressed on, "Wait a second, that isn't Sally, Sally, is it? From the San Diego show?"

I shrugged, glancing down to see she hadn't responded. "So what if it is?"

Alex's eyes grew wide, as if shocked I even had to ask. He took a deep breath. "Okay, I admit she was super sweet and just up your alley...but she's a fan."

"We meet fans every day." I rolled my eyes as I sent another text, this time adding that Alex said hi just to mess with him. "Trust me, she's different."

"You don't know that, Jack. You've known her all of, what, maybe two days?" Alex shot back, harsh, but truthful. I knew he was just worried about me, especially since I had a history of falling for the taking-advantage sort of girl. He let out a heavy sigh as he finished, "I'm just saying, be careful. Not saying she's bad or anything...but try not to get ahead of yourself, alright buddy?"

I pursed my lips, giving a few solid nods, but something deep inside kept telling me that Sally was the real deal, that I had nothing to fret over. Or at least, that was what my instincts were telling me. But then again, my instincts had been wrong plenty of times before...

My doubt disappeared as Alex left me to my thoughts and Sally finally replied back. As I read her text about getting Home Alone, I felt butterflies start to flutter in the pit of my stomach. I smiled to myself as I realized I hadn't felt butterflies for a girl in years. Since we graduated high school and began touring more and more, I took the one night stands over genuine relationships. I saw the strain long distance put on Alex and Lisa, and I admitted, I was a bit afraid of that kind of commitment. But now, this girl from San Diego was getting me to feel things simply from the very thought of her.

I replied to her quickly, even (not so) subtly suggesting we do a skype chat when we watched the best movie ever on Monday. That way I could almost have a face to face conversation with her and considering we were on tour and couldn't actually meet up, that sounded like the next logical step. All I knew, is I had to see her again.

Thankfully she agreed to the chat and for the rest of the day I felt like I could fly. The guys and the rest of the crew laughed at me as I may have acted like I was on ten cups of coffee because of this, but I didn't give a fuck.

Sally was the coolest girl in the world, and no one would convince me otherwise.  
But I can’t spell it out for you

No, it’s never gonna be that simple

No I can’t spell it out for you…

Today was the day.

The day that, for lack of better words, I was legitimately freaking the fuck out. Jack and I had texted well into the night just as we did before, and somewhere in our crazy random conversation, we had agreed that our "Super Epic Viewing of the Best Movie Ever Between Two States"--his title, not mine--would begin around one. Normally this time on a Monday I'd be going stir crazy at work, but my dear friend Kelsey had agreed to cover for me.

It was now twelve thirty on the dot, and my heart was beating drum patterns that would rival Rian's. I paced my small kitchen back and forth, my thoughts getting the better of me. It started off with the simple, ‘What if he forgot’, and escalated as far as, ‘Jack seriously must feel sorry for me or something for talking to me so much. It's just a stupid movie that he promised to share. Once that happens, he'll probably never speak to me again.’

Snatching my kitchen phone before I completely lost my nerve, I called Anna in a panic and to her credit, she didn't call me a raving lunatic and hang up on me. I wouldn't have blamed her if she had, especially since I had called her very much during school. At least it was during a break, so she even managed to laugh as I explained my situation to her.

"I told you I could ditch school to come comfort you." Anna reminded me as she had told me at least three times that very thing as I dropped her off after our little shopping trip the previous day. Her tone was begging me to take her up on that offer. "Isn't my cousins sanity more important than Algebra?"

I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying yes. I had to be a bit more responsible than that. "Thanks, but no. Your dad would kill me."

She scoffed. "You're no fun even when you're a bit on the crazy side. Where's your sense of adventure?"

I frowned at her odd words. I was a fun person and could easily have adventure if I wanted to, dammit. “Getting yelled at for helping you cut class isn’t exactly what I would call an adventure, Anna.” I shot back, realizing that maybe calling my rebellious teenage cousin wasn’t the best idea I ever had.

“Only if we get caught…” Anna replied, and I could have sworn I heard her stick her tongue out in spite. “Seriously, the way you follow the rules it’s like you’re fifty or something. Maybe hanging out with Jack will be a mistake. It’s not like you guys have a whole lot in common.”

I gasped at her accusation. First she called me no fun, now she was calling me OLD. I wouldn’t even acknowledge what she said about Jack. I had about enough of this. “You know what? I don’t know why I even bothered calling in the first place. Jack and I will have tons of fun despite what you may think.”

Silence followed momentarily, then Anna finally spoke up. “I got your nerves to go away, didn’t I?”

My eyes widened. She had fired me up on purpose? My shoulders deflated as I realized she really had managed to make me calm down. You know, in her own sick, twisted way. “You little…” I bit my tongue to stop myself from calling her too horrible of a name. “…you are evil.”

“I’ll take that as a thank you.” Anna laughed as a school bell buzzed in the background, indicating our little chat had to be cut short. “I have to go now but call me tonight with all the details. Don’t leave anything out!”

We quickly said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone with new confidence I hadn’t felt before. So what, I was about to chat-slash-watch a movie with a guy I had listened to religiously for a little over two years now? He was just like any other guy—in fact from some clips Anna had shared with me on the internet, he may fall into the ‘more awkward than most guys’ category. His awkwardness plus my own awkwardness was bound to make for an interesting night.

So, I grabbed my laptop and stretched out on my twin sized bed, popping in the Home Alone DVD into the disk reader. Since it was an older, cheap DVD I didn’t have to wait through those stupid non-skippable trailers that more recent releases came with. Once that was all set, I ran over to my bedroom mirror, checking my reflection for the tenth time in the last hour alone. Once I was convinced I was decent looking enough for the chat, I logged onto Skype. We had already exchanged account information the night before, so all that I needed was to wait for Jack to call me and we were good to go. Checking the clock again, it was now ten minutes until one, so I could be getting his call any minute. Not wanting another repeat of my call with Anna, I quickly put on some music on itunes to calm me down a bit. Clicking on the first name that caught my eye, I smiled at the music began humming through the computer speakers.

Oh, you creep up

Like the clouds

And you set my soul at ease

Then you let your love abound

And you bring me to my knees

Just as I was really getting into the Fiona Apple classic, the very distinct Skype ring began emanating over the music. I hit pause, smiling as I saw Jack’s icon--quite appropriately, the blink-182 bunny—appear. I clicked the green video call button and sure enough, seconds later, Jack appeared on screen. I had to grin at his casual appearance, with his bed head hair and five o’clock shadow, it was very clearly a travel day for the band.

“It’s you!” Jack exclaimed happily as my camera came into view as well.

I chuckled, shrugging as I responded, “Yep, here I am…” I adjusted the skype screen so I could only see his face and the DVD menu. “And the movie’s all ready to go.”

“Awesome! Mine’s all set too.” Jack smiled into the camera. “So let’s press play on the count of three…” I gave a nod, indicating I was ready. “One…two…three…”

Magically, we both managed to press play nearly in sync, so as I watched the movie for the first time, Jack’s commentary pretty much made sense. And seriously, he would not stop with the random trivia, so much so I wouldn’t be surprised if eighty percent of Jack’s trivia knowledge is purely Home Alone related. I didn’t mind his talking, especially since the premise of Home Alone wasn’t one I had to pay attention to one hundred percent of the time to get the jest of things.  
I laughed along with Jack as we sat through the almost two hour film, though I honestly was enjoying the company, however far away, rather than the actual movie. When it was all over, Jack was ecstatic to know what I thought.

I bit my lip, debating whether to just say it was good for Jack’s benefit, or tell him the truth. I sighed, realizing it was probably better to just go with the truth. “It was okay, I guess. Just…not my favorite.” I stopped myself from going further as I noted Jack’s slumped shoulders. He was obviously disappointed by my reaction. I quickly attempted to backpedal. “That’s not to say it wasn’t good, Jack, but I just—”

“It’s okay, Sally.” Jack held up a hand to stop me from continuing any further. “You don’t have to like it.”

I let out a heavy sigh, still feeling pretty bad about not liking Jack’s favorite movie, especially since it was so important to him. “I really wanted to…” I muttered to myself, just loud enough for Jack to overhear.

“It’s not the end of the world.” He smirked, taking this way more maturely than I thought he would. “Actually it might be a good thing.”

I squinted my eyes at the screen, unsure what he was getting at. “A good thing?” I repeated like an idiot.

Jack gave a nod. “The list of our likes and dislikes were getting a little too similar. We both like Nightmare and Blink, Batman and Aladdin…I was beginning to worry that you were just saying you liked something because I did.” He gestured towards me with a laugh. “And clearly, you don’t. So thanks for proving me wrong with that.”

I didn’t know what to say…he was happy I didn’t like it? “Um, you’re welcome. I guess.”

I heard a soft commotion in the background behind Jack as he turned his head to see what the fuss was about. He called over to someone out of camera and exchanged a few brief words with him before turning his attention back towards me. “Guess where we are right now?”

“I thought you were on the road somewhere out of Vegas.” I replied, trying to recall if Jack told me where the next tour date was located.

He shook his head. “Not anymore. We just got into DISNEYLAND!”

I heard a soft chuckle and a voice that sounded like Rian. “We’re in Anaheim, you dingus. We may not even be able to get into the park, remember?”

Jack was unaffected by his friend’s words. “Matt will find a way to get us into the park, even if that means bribing Mickey with a buttload of cheese.”

My eyes bugged out, shocked that they weren’t already making their way east. “You’re in Anaheim? That’s like a ninety minute drive. I do it all the time on my weekends off.”

Jack gasped as an idea popped into his head. “You should come hang with me—I mean, us!”  
I cringed at the tempting invitation. Chatting with Jack was undoubtedly the highlight of my days now, but I never thought I’d actually have a chance to see him face to face so soon. My responsible half told me to turn him down easy, that I had work the next day. “I would love too, but—”

There were more brief mutterings between Jack and someone else behind the camera before he added, “Matt says he can even get you in backstage at the show tomorrow night too if you want.Please, say yes?” That son of a bitch even added in a pouty lip for the full effect.

Should I go hang with Jack for two days? I knew that I did have work on Tuesday, but I could easily ask Kelsey for an extra day to cover my shift. Besides, I already managed to pile up a bunch of vacation days thanks to my (up til now) flawless record at the firm. Luckily my secretarial position was one that was easy to fill on short notice, so even if I was gone for say, a week, no one would blink an eye other than my uncle. He and I didn’t exactly get along in the workplace, and I was finding it harder and harder to be around him, so if it meant taking off a few days so I wouldn’t say something I might regret, maybe going to Anaheim wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Alright, I’m in.” I blurted out before I could change my mind.

“Yes!” Jack threw his fist up in victory as he gave a loud shout. “Dude, this is going to be fucking epic with Sally.”

I laughed at his excitement, but froze as I realized if I wanted to spend any sort of time with Jack, the sooner I got on the road, the better. Driving through Anaheim could easily be hell on earth, so I told him, “Alright, Jack…if I’m going to get there at a decent hour, I have to leave now. I’ll call you when I get into Downtown Disney, alright?”

He nodded and we quickly said our goodbyes. I gathered my keys and my jacket, as well as my well-loved Disney annual passport for SOCal residents, just in case the guys managed to bribe Mickey. As I got into my car, I laughed at how ridiculous this all was. Not even a week ago I was just a boring girl from San Diego with no direction in life, and now, here I was, on my way to Anaheim to meet up with one of my favorite bands for a night that I was sure to remember. Amazing how one chance meeting at Starbucks can change a life…I just didn’t realize how much.

Jack’s POV:

As I closed out Skype from my conversation with Sally, I let out a sigh of relief. This girl was downright…amazing. Our skype movie party had gone a thousand times better than I ever imagined it would, but I knew what would come would be even better. I never thought asking her to come down to Anaheim would actually work—sure I had really, really hoped she would agree, but she honestly shocked me when she said yes. Now I had just around two hours before I’d see her again, face to face and even though we had run into each other not two days ago, things were different now. We had really bonded over the last few days and I felt a genuine connection to her.

I know, I know what you’re thinking. I’m just a stupid boy with a crush. And damn, I had it bad.

Alex walked into the back lounge area a few moments later, noting the smile that I couldn’t seem to wipe off since hanging up with Sally. “What the fuck’s up with you?”

“Jack’s in love.” Rian responded for me, his tone of voice verging on boredom as he momentarily glanced up from his phone. “He needs help.”

“I’m not in love.” I defended myself, despite my heart telling me Rian was onto something.

Alex frowned. “Wait, is this about that Sally girl?” When I nodded, Alex visibly relaxed. He must have been worried I had set my sights on yet another girl way out of my league. I hated to admit, I was beginning to get a reputation with that. “I take it the movie date went well.”

“It was the best one hundred and thirteen minutes of my life.” I sighed dramatically as I momentarily went boneless against the plush seating in the lounge area. “She hated Home Alone, dude.”

Alex was clearly thrown off at my comment. “Jack, I thought you wanted her to like it.”

“I thought I did too…” I admitted. “But when she said she’d seen better movies, and how sorry she felt for not liking it after me building it up so much…I knew she was for real. That she’s really not talking to me because of…” I gestured widely to the space around us. “…this.”

Alex let out a breath. “Fuck, man. She seems pretty great.”

“She really is." I smiled up at my best friend. "I convinced her to drive up to Anaheim so she can hang out with us tonight.”

Alex, to his credit, only showed slight surprise at my words. “Wow, alright. That’s cool, I guess.”

“And she’s coming to the show tomorrow night.” I added.

Alex just shook his head with a laugh. “Man, you’ve got it bad.”  
Getting to Anaheim proved to be a relatively easy feat, even with the crazy Los Angeles traffic on a late Monday afternoon, and I only has to damn two drivers to hell, much lower than my usual ten. Luckily by the time I did get into the city that used to be nothing but orange groves, I was able to b-line it to the downtown disney guest parking without a hitch. Being a frequent visitor did have it's benefits, shortcuts and all. Once I settled into my parking spot, I quickly texted Jack with a short message to let him know I had arrived safe and sound.

I'm here! :)

I had an inkling Jack might be a bit excited about my spur of the moment visit, because it took mere moments for my cell to start ringing. I just smiled, getting out of my car and locking the doors before answering. "Hey Jack."

"You made it! We're all waiting for you in front of the main gate."

I nodded automatically into my phone, not even really worrying about who ‘we’ might be as I began swiftly cutting through the growing crowd. It had just hit five and it was a daily occurance for many a tired family to make their hike back to their hotels, while older guests like myself were just beginning their Disney day. "Sounds good. Just have to make it through security and I should be there in like five minutes, tops." Since I opted out of bringing a bag to the park, getting through security was literally a walk through, and the only thing that could lengthen the wait was if the line in was long. Considering this was early November, it was unlikely, but always possible. "I hope you haven't been waiting too long."

I heard some shuffling on the other end, then Jack responded nonchalantly. "Only a little. Matt already got our tickets, so we can go right in as soon as you're here."

"Awesome." I smiled as the security area came into view, no line in sight. I passed the mammoth store known as World of Disney, where I would often find unique merchandise all in one location, with the added benifit of not going into the parks. This was especially useful during particularly crowded days. Walking through the open security check, I found myself in the main hub, with one side leading to the newer California Adventure, and the other towards the classic Disney park. "Okay, out of security. Where are you."

I barely got my question out before a giant blur of black and orange attacked me from my side, causing me to let out an impressive yelp. The giant in question squeezed me into a tight hug before screaming in my ear. "Sally!!!"

I relaxed slightly as I realized it was just Jack, but only just. His hug, though appreciated, was currently cutting off my airway. I tapped his back as hard as I could and choked, "Air!"

Luckily, he got the hint and released me, an embarrassed glow of red running to his cheeks. "Sorry..."

"It's okay." I assured him once my lungs filled with the appropriate amount of oxygen. "Doesn't help with our size difference." I gestured between his six two stature and my own five five height.

"Right...I'll have to remember that." Jack muttered, clearly still kicking himself.

"Dude, are you coming or what?" A voice shot out before I could say anything else. I looked up to see Matt, All Time Low's manager and self proclaimed Disney lover, crossing his arms with an impatient stare in our direction. Alex was standing behind him as well, smirking at Jack with an amused look.

Jack rolled his eyes, offering his hand our to me as he whispered, "We better go, otherwise Matt'll throw a hissy fit." He eyed me, silently asking me to take his hand, which after a moments hesitation, I did. He smiled goofily as he lead me over to our small group. He introduced me again to his friends, and I found myself in yet another surreal moment at the casual nature over the whole thing. This was not a fan living out a fantasy, this was a girl hanging out with her crush (hey, I admit it) and his friends. Luckily Alex and Matt were surprisingly cool with Jack letting me tag along, and the feeling that I might be invading on their personal time quickly disappeared.

Once in the park, there seemed to be a magical switch reverting the guys to their younger selves--well more so than usual, anyway. This was most prominent with Matt, who I had to imagine was usually the voice of reason when around Alex and Jack, but as soon as he entered the park, I swear his face lit up like a kid on Christmas. Again, saying Matt was a Disney fan was an understatement if there ever was one.

"It's been way too long since I've been here last." Matt sighed happily to himself, taking in the impressive view of Main Street.

"Tell me about it." I chuckled softly, sympathizing with the tour manager. "I've been going on and off since I was four. Now I try to make it once a month, but recently I've been busy. I haven't been since June." I chuckled as I realized how crazy that sounded. Most people were lucky to visit once a year, if that. After all, visiting the Happiest Place on Earth wasn’t exactly what one would call cheap.

Alex laughed, nudging Matt as he teased, "Hey, looks like we might've found another Disney freak."

"Disney enthusiast, thank you." I corrected Alex, turning my nose to the air before giving a smirk. "And I may know a lot, but only really about Disneyland. I've never been to any other park." I nodded in Matt's direction. "You've been to Disney World, right?"

"Twenty times and counting." Matt responded with a proud smile, while Alex and Jack just observed the two of us with matching grins. "Favorite ride?"

"Splash Mountain, hands down." I answered without a doubt.

"Dude, me too!" Matt's jaw dropped as he gave me a high five. Clearly, he was happy to find someone else that genuinely loved Disney.

I wasn't the only one who noticed Matt's quick acceptance of me. "Dude, I think she just got Matt's stamp of approval." I heard Alex whisper to Jack, and Jack just nodded.

"Hell yes, she did!" Matt smiled as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Jack, I might steal her if you aren't careful."

Jack's smile dropped, clearly uncomfortable over how close Matt was to me, even it it was just in lighthearted fun. "Hey!" He whined and Matt just laughed, dropping his arm. As soon as Matt freed me, Jack took hold of my hand tightly in his own. "You're my Sally..."

I found his claiming of me to be charming, though I also knew I couldn't take whatever Jack said too seriously. I knew some girls might've been intimidated by Jack's...clingyness, but it didn't bother me. Maybe it was the fact that we had been texting almost constantly, or the fact that as I got to know him more, but my crush on him was quickly intensified. All I knew was as we walked hand in hand down Main Street, something felt right, being around Jack. I could almost sense the universe telling me that I was exactly where I was supposed to be, and I wasn’t exactly going to start complaining.

We went over towards New Orleans square, per Jack's request. He was dying to see the holiday version of the Haunted Mansion starring none other than Jack Skellington and the rest of the Nightmare cast. I think he was also hoping to get a picture of us with our movie couple equivalent, something that I was hoping for as well. No matter what happened after this trip, a photograph of the day I spent with Jack at Disneyland was one I'd surely cherish.

We somehow managed to get on the Haunted Mansion with a relatively short wait and twenty minutes later, we were in the crazy, wonderful land of Tim Burton. Jack insisted I share a buggy with him, making Alex and Matt take the one behind us. Now, let me tell you, I had been on the Haunted Mansion Holiday plenty of times since it began, but nothing compared to riding it with Jack Barakat. He pointed out every little Easter egg he could find, and I even shared a few hidden mickeys with him, which he thought was super cool. As we got off the ride, Jack even made sure everyone waved to the little Sally (in place of little Leota) before walking back into New Orleans Square.

We hopped onto a few more rides after that, each one more fun than the last. I found myself having the most fun I had in a long time, and this was all thanks to Jack. Had it not been for him inviting me, I’d be getting ready for another day at the firm, wishing I was here instead.  
Later in the evening, we even managed, by pure luck, to find Jack Skellington and Sally. To be expected, Jack went a little nuts. “Holy crap, Sally!” Jack bounced up and down, tapping my shoulder in excitement. “It’s us!” I let out a good laugh at Jack’s liveliness, rolling my eyes as he dragged me over to the small line. Alex and Matt, both used to Jack’s antics, decided that instead of waiting on us to get our picture, would instead hit up Indiana Jones. Once the two headed off, Jack and I passed the time by chatting about random Disney trivia, and by the end of it he was convinced Matt and I needed a ‘Disney showdown’ to see who knew more once and for all. I still insisted Matt would win, but Jack assured me not to count myself out just yet.

Taking our picture with our Nightmare counterparts was the cap to an awesome night in the park, and by the time we got our picture, it was just around nine o’clock. Feeling we had enough adventure in the park for one night, Jack and I decided to part ways from Alex and Matt, who chose to close the park instead.

So Jack and I made our way out of the park and back into Downtown Disney, casually strolling in the brisk night air. We didn’t say anything for a bit, just enjoying each other’s company among the glow of the shopping district. It wasn’t until we were a good quarter of the way through that Jack turned to me and said, “I never thanked you for coming. It’s been a blast with you here.”  
I looked up at him, noting the genuine smile plastered on his face. “Thank you for inviting me.” I replied, blushing slightly as our eyes met.

Jack was silent for a moment, struggling to find the right words. “You know, you’re the first girl in a long time that I’ve felt a real connection with.” He paused, his brown eyes pleading with my grey ones. “Please don’t tell me I’m the only one.”

“You’re not.” I replied, almost too quickly. I snapped my mouth shut as I realized how desperate I came across. After all, a ‘connection’ didn’t have to mean anything romantic, did it? Not wanting to assume anything, I cleared my throat as I calmly repeated. “I mean, you’re not the only one.”

Jack smirked, amused at my response. “Cool. I was worried I was going crazy for a second.”

“Oh, you are.” I laughed and Jack looked at me with an almost wounded stare before I shrugged, elaborating, “But I am too, so we can be crazy together.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “God, woman. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

I giggled. “I wouldn’t want that! You guys have a show tomorrow, after all.” I pursed my lips, adding, “Oh, remind me to thank Matt for getting me tickets. And backstage passes. I’ve never been backstage before.”

“After being backstage with All Time Low, there’s no going back.” Jack joked as we continued on our stroll, now passing the very House of Blues we’d be at the following day.

“I’ll hold you to that.” I winked, laughing as Jack’s grin only grew.

“Seriously, our backstage parties are the fuckin’ bomb.” Jack bragged, shutting his mouth quickly as an older grandmother with her grandchildren gave him the most menacing stare imaginable for his choice in words. “I mean, it’s pretty great…” he corrected himself, his voice several notches lower.

I chuckled softly, noting how cute he got when he was embarrassed. “I’m sure they are. Anna showed me a video or two of the bands backstage antics. Buzznet really has no boundaries, does it?” I inquired, a specific clip coming to mind of Alex’s drunken streaking in front of many a crew member.

“I think it’s more our lack of boundaries.” Jack corrected. “It’s one of the ways we try to stay connected with the fans.”

I bit my lip, admitting slowly. “You know, that’s one of the reasons I started listening to you guys in the first place.” When he raised a brow, I continued, “I mean, the songs were great and catchy, of course. But the way that you guys always go out of your way to make a fan feel like they’re family, well that’s something special…” My voice faded for a moment as I glanced up at Jack, who seemed to be truly touched. “I just thought you should know.”

He nodded, smiling softly. “Thanks, Sally.”

I blushed, feeling my heart flutter at the sound of his special nickname for me. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to it. We strolled in silence for a few seconds more before reaching the parking lot. Though I desperately wanted this night to last forever, I knew if we wanted to stick to our plans tomorrow, I had to part ways now. We said our goodbyes, Jack even offering to let me sleep on the spare bunk on the bus so I didn’t have to go to a hotel across the street. I kindly declined, knowing certain things could easily happen if I agreed to that, especially since Rian had texted him not five seconds before letting him know that a game of beer pong had begun, and apparently Zack was winning.

I hopped into my car after a long, exhausting, wonderful day, unable to wipe the smile off my face. Hanging out with Jack made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I don’t know what it was about that tall, dorky guitarist, but I knew whatever it was, it was something special that I never wanted to end.  
I woke up the next morning in a darkened hotel room, the only light emitting through the window curtains. I let out a tired moan, stretching my limbs as far as I could. Still in a fog, I then proceeded with my morning routine, and it wasn't until I was fresh out of the shower that it really sunk in what had transpired the night before. My heart fluttered at the memory, of holding hands with Jack like two school kids with a crush and undoubtedly having the best night of my life.

I smiled to myself as I towel dried my hair, wondering how I had got so lucky. Other than my silly tattoo, I couldn't understand what about me caught Jack's eye. It wasn't my looks, that's for sure. There were plenty of girls at that San Diego Meet and Greet who had gone all out in the looks department--you know, dressed to the nines despite being at a concert, complete with heavy makeup and delicate curls--in hopes of catching one of the musician's attention. Yet, Jack gaveme, the girl who had worn a simple tee shirt, little makeup, and had my hair in a bun, his number.

I got dressed quickly and unplugged my phone from it's charger to check the time, only to see it was already passed ten. I also noticed that I had several missed calls from Anna. Worried that something might've happened, I called her back right away.

"Where are you?" Anna demanded, skipping any sort of pleasantries. "You were supposed to take me to school."

I bit my lip, wincing as I realized I had completely blanked on my promise. "Sorry! I just got a bit..." I pursed my lips, letting out a breath as I realized how stupid my excuse sounded. "...distracted."

Luckily my cousin didn't seem too offended by my lack of excuse. "I got a ride from Danielle, but I was seriously worried when you didn't call last night and then, you know, not answering the door today...Jack didn't flake out, did he?"

"No, he didn't." I assured her. "We saw Home Alone just as we planned."

There was silence on the other end. Then Anna, always the insightful one, said, "Why am I sensing there's something else going on here? You never told me why you weren't home and I know you took another day off work so spill."

I rolled my eyes, silently debating whether or not I should tell her. It would be nice to have something to myself for once. But at the same time, Anna would never forgive me if I didn't keep her in the loop at least a little bit. So, I let out with a reluctant sigh, "I'm in Anaheim...visiting with Jack."

I swear, the fan girl scream I got in response broke some kind of sound barrier. I had to pull my phone away just to salvage my ear drum. I gave it a few moments before cautiously putting the cell back to my ear. "OH MY GOD, CHRIS! YOU ARE THE LUCKIEST FUCKING GIRL IN THE WORLD. TELL ME EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED RIGHT THIS MINUTE!"

I gave her a brief retelling of my night with Jack, Alex and Matt, and assured her that the experience was every bit of wild and amazing as she would expect. "And it's not over yet. Jack wants me to spend the day with him, in addition to a backstage pass and a great spot for the show tonight--" My phone buzzed, indicating I had another call coming in. "Speak of the devil...can you hold on a second? I've got a call waiting."

"Dude, is it him?" Anna gasped.

I suppressed an annoyed groan. "Just...hold on." I pressed a button, cutting of Anna's squeals of excitement and answered Jack's call. "Morning, Jack."

"I hope I didn't wake you." Jack responded cheerfully. "I was just wondering what time you think you'll be over? Matt wants to know."

I shrugged. "I guess I could be over there within...fifteen minutes?" I paused, calculating the time it would take to walk from the hotel to the venue. That sounded about right. "Yeah, fifteen minutes."

"Awesome! I know it's early, and we won't even do sound check until three, but maybe we can walk around some more. You probably know some cool spots, right?"

I bit my lip to stop from smiling. "I might know a few."

"Great." Jack responded. I could hear his excitement, and it made me rethink that perhaps I wasn't the only one with a crush. "Actually, how about we meet in front of that awesome looking Lego store?"

"That'll work." I nodded into the phone, snatching my boots and struggled to slip them on with one hand. "I'll see you then."

He and I talked for a few minutes more before I remembered Anna was still waiting on the other line. So we said our goodbyes and I switched back to Anna. I apologized for the wait, but she assured me it was fine, replying dramatically. "I don't want to get in the way of your blooming love."

"We're just friends." I sighed, hoping the more I repeated that I might be able to convince myself.

"Keep telling yourself that." Anna chuckled. "Chris, promise me to keep me in the loop. You know how boring my life is. This is exciting shit."

"It is." I chuckled, finding it hard to deny. "And I'll try my best to keep you informed. If I don't call tonight, I'll be back tomorrow and I'll tell you all about it. Deal?"

"Deal." Anna gave a laugh. "Oh, crap. I have to go. The substitute just looked in my direction."  
I gasped. "I didn't know you were in class! Why did you answer?"

"I thought you had a nervous breakdown or something. But I really don't--"

Her call was abruptly cut short, as I imagined the substitute teacher finally got to her. I had to admit, though it was always a pleasure talking to my cousin, I couldn't say I felt too sorry for her. Besides I had more important things on my mind. Grabbing all the necessities, I walked out the door and briskly made my way over towards the shopping center, hoping that I wasn’t making Jack wait too long. Though I had a feeling he of all people could find a way to amuse himself, especially standing in front of a Lego store. I decided that following the wave of people that were making their way towards the park was the best way to go, considering my hotel was located closer to the parks, not Downtown Disney. Had I found a room a few blocks down, I would’ve been able to meet Jack in no time flat. But of course, I had to choose the more touristy side of town last night.

That being said, I was a fast walker and made my way over through the checkpoints relatively quickly, though not as fast as the previous day, and this time, there was an actual line. By the time I made the long trek to the Lego store, I glanced down at my phone and saw it had been fifteen minutes since I had last talked to Jack, which meant I was right on time. Sure enough, as I approached the giant yellow construction that was guarded by a Lego version of the Sleeping Beauty dragon, I noticed a tall, dark haired man looking very out of place amongst the dozens of children running around the store. He was looking down at his phone, probably passing the time with a game or two while he waited for me to arrive. I couldn’t help but smile as I quietly approached him. Pursing my lips, I leaned over and gently tapped on his shoulder to get his attention. His head immediately shot up towards my direction and as soon as he saw me, his face broke into a grin. “Hey!” He smirked, putting away his phone. “So you need to show me around this place.” He gestured grandly to the resort at hand. “Each time I’m here it’s such a rush so I never get to see anything other than the park.”

“I think I can do that.” I nodded, pointing towards the Disneyland Hotel. “Have you been over this way before?”

He shook his head and I smirked, knowing exactly where to go. One of my favorite hide-aways resided at the hotel, just in front of the far left tower. As I lead the way, I told Jack a bit of what I knew about the hotel’s history, and how much it had changed in the last few years alone. Growing up, I had memories of a much different area, with things like the Monorail Café, an old water show set to Disney music and of course, not to mention a sea of parking lots from the hotel to the park in place of the Downtown area. We passed the main hotel pool as well as a pirate themed restaurant before the rush of water filled our ears.

“What’s that?” Jack asked, perplexed.

“My favorite place.” I answered mysteriously, adding a wink for effect as I took his hand, bravely dragging him towards the majestic sight. In front of what was currently known as the Bonita tower, was a majestic, man-made waterfall. The powerful water fell into the large koi pond below, and the breathtaking sight was only the beginning. Making sure I had a firm grip on Jack, I looked up at him and asked, “I hope you’re okay with getting a bit wet.”

He furrowed his brows for a second, realizing I was taking him closer to the water. “Wait, we can’t go down there, can we?”

“There’s a path that leads to the back side of the water. You know, the eighth wonder of the world?” I laughed at my corny Jungle Cruise joke. Going to Disneyland made me a little silly, alright? “But it can get slippery.”

“Duly noted.” Jack replied, saluting me with his free hand. I then continued to lead the way, stealing glances in Jack’s direction every so often as we made our leisurely decent. I loved how genuinely taken aback he was by this Disney creation. It truly was a sight. “Wow, this is amazing!” Jack shouted as we reached the bottom, the rush of water now louder than ever.

I nodded, grinning widely. “I know, right!” I grabbed the protective railing and leaned over slightly to enjoy the calming view of fish swimming by. We stayed there for a few minutes more just enjoying the view, then decided to head back up since the water made it difficult to hold a conversation.

Once back up top, Jack turned to me and smiled, “I’ll have to sneak Matt and the guys over here later.”

“You mean Matt doesn’t know about that place?” I asked, genuinely surprised I knew about something Disney related that the expert didn’t.

Jack shook his head. “No. Or at least, I don’t think so.”

I gave a snort. “If I really did scoop Matt, I think I could die happy.”

Jack gave a soft chuckle, but said nothing. We continued on our casual walk, even walking into the main tower where I knew they had a giant display of classic Disneyland items dating back to when the park opened in 1955. We strolled, chatting to our heart’s content before Jack checked the time and told me we better head back to the venue. “It’s just, the closer it is to show time, the more likely we might get bombarded by fans.” He had explained to me. “I don’t want to make you go through that.”

I genuinely appreciated that, especially considering if we were caught together by fans, the rumor mill would certainly begin, and I really wasn’t ready for that. So we made the short trip (the back way this time, through the parking lot) to the House of Blues, entering the venue to face a stressed out looking Matt.

“Where the hell have you been, man? Sound check was pushed up, remember?” Matt practically shoved Jack up towards the stage where the rest of All Time Low was patiently waiting for their band member. After making sure Jack had his guitar and was ready to go, Matt walked back to me and said, much more calmly, “Sorry about that.”

I threw my hands in the air. “No, it’s fine. It’s your job, right?”

Matt huffed, like what I uttered was the biggest understatement in the world. “Don’t I know it.” He paused. “Speaking of which, I have this for you…” He dug in his right pocket to reveal a special VIP lament. “Per Jack’s request.”

I graciously took the pass. “Thank you so much, Matt. I know it must have been hard since this was all super last minute.”

Matt shrugged. “Not a problem.” He smirked, glancing towards Jack, who was running through a particular riff on his guitar. “Plus, I wanted to meet the girl that’s got Jack’s head in the clouds. One of the reasons why I tagged along last night.” He smirked with a wink.

I chuckled, knowing what he meant. Getting to spend time with the guys like this was on a whole different level. Our conversation quickly faded as Jack finally got the troubling riff down and the band ran through a full song together, with the sound guy making the appropriate adjustments throughout. Luckily sound check all together didn’t take that long, and by noon the band had wrapped up.

“Sally, you have to join us back on the bus.” Jack told me, pleading desperately with his eyes.  
I shrugged, realizing I had nowhere else to be between now and show time anyway. “Sure—I mean, if that’s okay with everyone.”

“Of course it’s okay.” Alex laughed, hopping down the last few steps that lead to the stage. “You already have the stamp of approval, remember?”

I nodded dumbly, vaguely recalling a brief conversation the night before where Alex gave me the aforementioned ‘stamp’, a very important responsibility of the best friend, according to him. “Right…what’s the plan?”

“Sleep!”

This came from an exhausted looking Rian. I frowned in sympathy, as I could only imagine how much energy it took to play the drum night after night like he did, then keep up with the party monsters known as Alex and Jack.

“Lunch, actually.” Jack chuckled at his tired friend as he walked back towards me. “If you’re hungry, that is. I think catering is from that Mexican restaurant across the way.” I graciously agreed, especially considering I had skipped breakfast all together in the excitement to meet up with Jack.

I followed the guys back to where catering was set up, not on the bus, but behind HOB, and enjoyed an expectedly…unique lunch with the band and crew, filled with mini food fights and everything. Oh, and Jack’s talking taco that seemed to have a thing against Fall Out Boy. Can’t forget that one.

After lunch, Jack and I continued to hang out, only parting ways when he was needed for band related things, like press or Meet and Greet. During that time I would get to know the crew a little better, or hang with Matt if he wasn’t too busy.

The concert time flew by before I knew, and let me tell you, seeing a show from side stage is an experience all its own. The only problem was making sure you stayed out of the way so guitar techs and such could squeeze by to do their job. Other than that, it was a blast. Jack, of course, insisted that I stay on ‘his side’ of the stage, so that when the band (minus Alex) took a break during the slow songs, he could chat with me. Oh, and sneak in a very sweaty hug, which I didn’t appreciate as much.

As Dear Maria’s last few notes filled the venue, another show came to a close. Once properly showered and cooled down, Jack asked if I wanted to join the bus party before we parted ways, as I had to go home and they had to make the drive up north to San Francisco. I agreed, figuring that it was another one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, to party with All Time Low.

“Yes! Sally, you’re gonna have so much fun. Like, a buttload.”

I laughed at his choice of words, probably still a bit cautious thanks to the scary ass grandmother incident the night before. “Promise?” I teased, sticking my tongue between my teeth.

“Oh, I promise.”


End file.
